Brave New World is the twelfth studio album by British heavy metal band Iron Maiden, released on 29 May 2000. It was their first studio release since the return of longtime lead singer Bruce Dickinson (who left in 1993) and guitarist Adrian Smith (who left in 1990) in 1999, as well as the band's first studio recording as a six-piece, as Janick Gers, who replaced Smith in 1990, remained with the band.

Most of the songs were written before The Ed Hunter Tour and were later recorded at Guillaume Tell Studios, Paris. It was the first album the band would record with producer Kevin Shirley, and the first that they would record live in the studio.[6]

According to an interview with Adrian Smith, "The Nomad", "Dream of Mirrors", and "The Mercenary" were originally written for 1998's Virtual XI, and former vocalist Blaze Bayley provided some lyrics for "Dream of Mirrors", but was not credited.[7] According to Steve Harris, work had also begun on "Blood Brothers" during that period, but it was not completed at the time.[8]

Reviews for the album were generally positive. Critics were especially warm towards the return of Bruce Dickinson and Adrian Smith to the band compared to the previous two releases which featured Blaze Bayley on vocals.[18]Kerrang! described it as "truly towering. Majestic. Bombastic. Titanic. So gloriously in-yer-face you can almost feel its hot breath up your nostrils."[15]Sputnikmusic described it as "one of the band's top albums; along side the likes of Powerslave, Somewhere in Time, and Piece of Mind" and "definitely the easiest album to get into since the band's glory days."[18]Classic Rock stated that, while "it may not take too many strides forward," it "certainly succeeds in reeling back the years to Iron Maiden's heyday."[13]

AllMusic were slightly more critical of the album, describing it as "no Number of the Beast," although going on to say that "as comeback albums go, its excellence was undeniable," and likewise giving the album a positive rating.[10]

NME were extremely unfavourable towards the release, arguing that the band's past "dismissal of the outside world, which kept them safe all those years, now leaves them looking rather obsolete." The magazine also compared the band to more contemporary acts such as Korn and Slipknot and felt Iron Maiden were "no longer the high priests of the black arts, and seem almost innocent by comparison."[16]Blabbermouth.net were also negative, stating that the band sound "tired and uninspired", and concluding that "[Brave New World] will fail to leave a lasting mark on the face of the current metal scene."[11]